1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an animal stunner for use in livestock/slaughterhouse operations, which features a faster stroke for more efficient operation, improved safety features, and a low maintenance design.
2. Description of the Related Art
In livestock production plants, it is important to stun and disable an animal for processing. Although numerous methods have been used to stun livestock, captive bolt mechanisms have proven to be the most efficient, inexpensive, and humane way to disable the animal. Particularly, pneumatic captive bolt devices have been used in this capacity.
Previous captive bolt devices have not proven to be as safe and effective as desired. Prior art captive bolt devices do not necessarily include a safety mechanism to prevent the inadvertent actuation of the device. Furthermore, the speed of the stunning element in prior art pneumatic devices has been limited by the manner in which fluid was introduced behind the captive bolt element. Finally, several prior art captive bolt devices have not employed a mechanism to prevent the build up of animal matter in the devices, causing clogging, misoperation, and production delays.